Fang: Part Three
by Ellie Parker
Summary: sequel to Fang: Part Two, obviously! Fang and Max are together again, but then ripped apart. What happens when they are reunited, but discover a shocking secret to saving the world? And what if their only spy is killed, leaving them alone? FAX. Rated t.
1. Chapter 1

**So I heard a really cute song on the radio, well, internet radio, and I decided to get back into these books. Check it out if you're into Christian rock, it's Satisfy by 10****th**** avenue north. Okay, so this is the next addition to our Fang series. Let's go!**

I rolled over in my bed, stretching my arms and legs out. My hand collided with something hard, and out of nowhere, that hard something bit my hand. But then the bite turned into kisses, and I felt content once again.

I turned to look at Fang, and he was smiling at me. "Good morning." He said.

"Mmm." I replied, leaning in to kiss his lips. He kissed back, and we were 'preoccupied' for a few minutes.

"I love you." I murmured into his hair. I was stroking it, kissing the tips, brushing it from his eyes. "I like your hair without the tangles and snarls." I said smartly.

"Watch it, I can say the same about you." He said, eyes narrowing.

"I know, but you wouldn't. Not when you just love me so much." I flirted, stroking his bare chest. I found it quite funny how up until he and I started to sleep together he wore a t-shirt to bed. Just a little FF (Fang fact).

"So you don't love me?" he asked, mocking me. "Give me that ring back." He said, and I playfully slapped him on the cheek. At least, it was playful to me, but I realized it was just a bit too hard and he rubbed it. "I guess that's my answer as to how much you love me."

"Sorry." I moaned.

"It's okay honey. I forgive you." He said, seeking my other hand under the twisted covers, kissing each of the fingers before kissing the ring. "And I do love you. I also know that you love me this much." He said, stretching out his arms to both sides to show how much.

I laughed, and he did too. At least, he did up until Iggy waltzed into the room, running a hand casually through his long hair. "They sent the blind guy so I didn't need to see anything." He said, still having a look of yuckiness on his face.

"Well then I guess I should paint the walls to this room white." I said.

"Uh, no you shouldn't." Fang answered quickly. Since we shared the room, the walls in here were black. The bathroom walls were white.

"That's okay Max. Don't strain yourself."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm rolling my eyes Ig."

"Your mom says time for breakfast, and that she's also giving Fang, Gazzy and I haircuts later." He said.

When he walked out, I shut the door and hopped into the shower. Fang was on the other side of the dark curtain brushing his teeth when it happened. The water shut off, the lights went out, and everyone in the house was quiet, just like I had taught them in a time of crisis.

I grabbed a towel, wrapped it around myself, and jumped out, peeking through the key hole to the bedroom.

"That isn't the power going out, otherwise the water would have stayed on." I whispered, while Fang silently spit out his toothpaste. He rubbed my back, letting me know just how stressed he was without saying anything.

"I'm gonna go check it out." He said, pushing me gently out of the way.

"What? No, I'm the leader, I should go check it out." I protested in a whisper.

He shrugged, opening the door. "I'll be back. But put some clothes on." He advised.

I did what he told me to do. I quickly pulled my jeans and cami and zip-up hoodie on, and put my boots on, tucking my jeans into them.

I crept quietly out to my room, peering around carefully. I hadn't heard anything that gave away any sign of a struggle, but then why wasn't Fang back yet? I had my back to the door, and I heard it slam shut.

"Well what took you so long?" I asked Fang, not turning around.

There was no answer. My pulse quickened as I felt fresh adrenaline pound through my veins. My hands curled into fists, and I spun around, just in time to see an Eraser holding Fang in a headlock throw Fang out of the room, locking the door behind him.

I threw myself at the Eraser. How dare he even think about hurting Fang? I pounded my fists into him, but then another crashed into the room from my window. Soon it was twenty against one, and there wasn't enough room for me to fight them all off. One landed a kick at my ribs, probably cracking one. Then another swept me off my feet, making me land on the floor, wincing at the fresh pain of my ribs.

I heard pounding on the door as an Eraser kicked me in the back of my head. I saw stars, and black gathered in my pool of vision, and everything was black. I heard faint shouting in the background, fading fast.

"Damn, Chu's gonna kill us!"

"Max! No!"

"You weren't supposed to kill it dumbass!"

Then the last one I barely caught, I could have imagined it. "Max, I love you! I'll get you back Max! Even if I have to die for you!" Fang. Faannnng. Faaaaannnnnggggg. It got harder and harder to think, and I couldn't really feel my pulse anymore. And then I didn't feel it at all. I didn't feel anything at all.

**RIP Max. We'll all miss you. I know, it's the first chapter, and the main character has already died. Oh well. Too bad. Go ahead, hate me. Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Fang shivered in the silence that followed. It looked like Max's wall was completely ripped out. He watched the Erasers fly away with her, and he did nothing. He went to fly out, but was stopped by-guess who? Angel.

"You can't save her. She's already gone Fang." She said.

Her words jumbled up in his head. He thought he knew what she meant, but his brain just completely shut down. Max was…gone? Really gone? But he had just gotten her back.

Suddenly the world seemed completely empty. He could feel a chill in him that went completely down to the bone. His heart felt heavy, and he struggled to take a breath. Angel was never wrong, she wasn't even wrong about him being the first to die. Fang looked out the shattered wall, out into the trees, and saw nothing. He could only see Max emerging from them. She walked closer to him, until she was one foot from him. She reached out and placed her unnaturally cold palm to his cheek, took a step back, waved, and she vanished, as if she evaporated into the air.

Fang was suddenly aware of the flock all around him in Max's room, all of them crying, while Dr. M just crumbled against the wall. Fang knew he had to be tough, and that Max would want him to reach out to her mother, so Fang stepped over the rubble and went to Dr. Martinez and put a hand on her shoulder. She met his gaze and gripped his other hand.

"Bring her back." She whispered. Her brown eyes were almost swallowed up by the pupils, and the gaze made Fang shiver again. "You need to get her back."

Fang swallowed and shook his head. "I don't know if I can."

"I don't care what you do to get her back. Find her body and bring it back. I will not let what is left of my daughter be experimented upon and chopped up like a pepper in a quesadilla." Valencia said, not breaking her stare.

Fang sighed, shut his eyes, and swallowed the lump in his throat. What Ms. Martinez was saying, it was impossible. How could Fang possibly know where those monsters had taken Max?

And just like that, the answer literally appeared in front of him. Max appeared in front of him, right next to her mother, who had started to cry again. Max touched her mother's other shoulder, and looked at Fang.

"Don't let this happen to her Fang." She said, her voice echoing, sounding airy.

Fang looked around, but nobody else had noticed Max, although Angel was looking at him with wide eyes.

"You are the only one that can see me." She said.

_I don't know where you are._

Max laughed. "You'll figure it out. You always do. But if you get to me in time, you can still save my life, like I saved yours." She said, getting serious.

Fang shook his head. _How? How do you save your life?_

Max just shook her head too. "You will find all the answers you need. But I have to go. I don't have much time."

_Can't I have a clue?_

"Consider that as your clue." She said, and then disappeared again like the first time Fang had seen her.

Fang turned and saw that the flock was looking at him, because he looked like he was staring at a wall, when he was really staring at his lost love. "Okay, this is what we need to do."

* * *

The Erasers carried Max's body through the lab and up to Mr. Chu's office. When they entered, he was standing with his back to them, drinking from a small cup of tea. "I hope you brought what I needed."

The leader nodded, and then thought up a sentence to say. "Well, we did, but…"

"I told you to bring me Maximum Ride, without any ifs, ands, or buts." He said.

"We did bring it, but it's not exactly what you wanted."

Mr. Chu spun around, and saw the limp form of the world's savior. His eyes grew wide, and he whispered, "What have you done?"

"We didn't mean to kill it." The leader said, still holding Max in his arms.

One of Chu's assistants handed him a small weapon, and Chu threw it at the leader, where it embedded itself in it's fur, and he dropped to the floor, Max falling with him. "Clean this up." Chu said. "And take it to one of the available labs, where we will make it comfortable." He commanded to the remaining Erasers.

"But sir," one of the assistants said, "it's dead."

"Fetch Jeb Batchelder on the way, and his experiment." Mr. Chu turned back to the window. "Maximum Ride will not be dead for long."

He stood like that for a long time, and finally Jeb came into the office, with his pet dog behind him.

"Mr. Chu, you wished to see me." Jeb said, trying to hide his apprehension. He knew that no good could come out of this visit.

"How is your experiment doing, doctor?" Chu asked, walking closer to the young child.

"Ari? He, uh, it has taken a while for him to gain strength, but there is no sign of mental distress." Jeb said, not daring to look at his son.

"So this experimentation is finished?" Chu pressed.

"Yes, sir, I believe Ari is ready for fighting again." Ari grinned proudly and stood up straighter to make his seven-year-old chest look bigger.

"Well," Chu said, "I believe I have another experiment ready for you." He backed away, and started to pace in the open floor. "What you have done with this boy is extraordinary. You brought him back to life, and you do have your daughter to thank for that. But unfortunately, her discoveries have to be used on her now." Chu said, looking at Jeb with sad eyes.

"Robert, if I am correct, you are saying that Max is dead." Jeb said, barely able to make the sentence come out. Ari whimpered quietly.

"Yes, Jeb, the invincible Maximum Ride is dead. It was a minor mistake my minions made while capturing her, and I need her alive to complete this plan." Chu said.

Jeb gulped. "You don't even know if it'll work."

"I do know Jeb. I have total faith in you. You will bring the girl back to life, and that will be just in time for the world to be saved." Chu said, looking out the window thoughtfully. "I have tested her, tried to push her to her limits. But through that I found out that your daughter has no limits. She will do anything for anyone she loves, dare I say she would do anything for you." Chu said. "Yes, I have faith in Maximum Ride. She will save the world."

**So, pretty interesting stuff this chapter. Is Fang going insane with grief, and what side is Chu on anyway? REVIEW! ...Please.**


	3. Chapter 3

Jeb put the syringe down. He didn't know what else to do as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had tried everything, putting adrenaline in an IV that was hooked up to Max, putting it into her head, even emptying the liquid contents directly into her heart. None of it helped the fact that the heart monitor in front of him was still flat-lining. None of it helped the fact that Jeb had ultimately failed.

Ari went to his father's side and took his free hand. "Daddy, will Max be okay? Can you save her too?"

"I don't think so son. I'm sorry. I just can't save everyone." Jeb admitted.

"But what about the world? Don't you need someone to save the world?" Ari pressed.

"Yep. And I know just who can do it." Jeb said, standing up and leading Ari out of the lab, where Jeb went to his car, and drove away from Max's body. Her only hope had officially given up.

* * *

Fang was sitting on the windowsill of his room. He was looking out into the dark night, reliving some of his sweetest moments of Maxness in his head.

_FLASHBACK:_ The sun was warm as he and Max set up the volleyball net for the cook-out. Max's mom had put emphasis on only Max setting it up, but Fang had nothing else to do, so he volunteered to help her. Max had her favorite outfit on, dark skinny jeans, gray camisole, and long black boots that covered her jeans from the toe to knee. Her straight hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She stopped hammering a peg into the ground so she could drag her hand across her sweaty forehead. She caught me staring.

"What?" she asked.

I looked down at the hammer I had in my hands. "Nothing."

"You can't lie to me." She said, trying to tie the string holding the net to the pole. My side was already tied. I went over to her, assisting her in tying the knot, no pun intended. She smiled. "Thanks."

I smiled too and bent my neck lower to quickly peck her on the lips. _END OF FLASHBACK._

Fang's heart started to ache, as the sun slowly turned golden, the exact color Max's hair was when she would be flying freely high up in the sky, above where birds and planes flew, where she struggled to breathe but still enjoyed it.

Nudge knocked on the open door. "Hey, Jeb's here." She said, walking toward Fang slowly. "Will you be okay Fang?" she asked, taking his hand.

He smiled sadly. "I don't know sweetie." He confessed grimly.

"We still haven't gotten anywhere with the whole science lab thing. I've never failed at tracking something through the computer. It's terrible." She admitted. "Sorry, I know you really don't want any bad news right now."

"You can't go through life avoiding bad news." Fang mumbled, looking back out at the sunset.

Fang was still seeing Max everywhere, but now he was seeing her flying around outside, her silhouette black against the glowing sun.

"You see her don't you?" Nudge asked. Fang didn't know how to answer, so he sat there. "It's okay Fang. I see her too. She's been helping me, but even she has no idea where she is."

"Have you noticed how faint she is compared to how she was in the beginning?" Fang asked, already knowing why it was.

"Yeah, Angel says she'll probably disappear entirely in a couple of days or so. The longer she's…"

"Nudge," Fang began, cutting her off. "I really do not want to be reminded that my girlfriend is dead, okay?" he said spitefully.

"The others can't see her. I haven't told them though. It's only Angel that knows, even though she can't see Max." Nudge whispered.

Fang ignored her, and eventually she left the room. On her way out she said, "Jeb still wants to talk to you."

Grumbling a long string of profanities, Fang left the room and saw that the grim-looking flock was gathered in the living room, all listening to Jeb, who was saying that they needed to take back the School. It wasn't destroyed, and that we would find Max there. The dead Max there.

**So we know that it isn't just Fang seeing Max, but he and Nudge could be going crazy. What will happen when Max disappears completely? Keep reading to find out! REVIEW!...Please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry its taken a while. Super busy with dance recital, graduation, softball, and sleeping in between. Anwayy…time for some FAX. Oh wait…**

Fifteen minutes after Fang joined Jeb and the flock in the living room, Jeb stopped talking and waited for the plan to sink in. As always, Nudge was the first to speak. She looked at Fang for a moment, and then glanced at everyone else. "I speak on behalf of everyone else when I say that saving the world without Max is just wrong. We should wait a couple months."

Jeb shook his head. "We don't have a couple months Nudge. Everyday, the world gets closer to being destroyed. Max has been captured by Chu, so that he can achieve his goal of destroying everything."

"I just have a bad feeling about doing this without her though." Nudge answered quietly.

"Well, if you stick to the plan, we will be able to rescue Max and then she can handle the rest." Jeb said.

The silent flock suddenly exploded.

Iggy yelled first. "So she gets all the credit?"

Next was the Gasman. "We're just the accomplices and nothing more?"

Angel was next. "I am not doing that Jeb. I should be the leader."

It was Fang's voice that was heard over all of them though. "Don't fancy yourself with the 'Max is alive' shit. We all know that she's dead, and won't be coming back."

The room was silent for a while. Fang felt as if an Eraser had slashed open his heart with a knife blazing with fire. He hadn't really heard it said aloud, and never imagined that he would be the first to say it. Dr. M was looking at wall blankly, probably freaking out on the inside.

During the awkward silence where the flock had their own internal freak-outs, Jeb spoke. "Well, if that's what you choose to believe, so be it. I can't change your opinion. Not unless I go into a career in advertising." He picked up his jacket and keys and walked to the door slamming it behind him.

Dr. Martinez stood up quickly. "Jeb." She called before following him outside into the cold night air.

They stood on the porch for a while, facing each other. Finally Valencia took a step closer to him, making them only inches apart. "Promise me that you will do what you can, and I will promise you the same." She said, touching his cheek.

"I have already tried. It didn't work." Jeb answered, officially feeling defeated.

"Then try again. I know you can do it. She isn't completely gone yet." Valencia stood on her toes and kissed Jeb, first a peck, and then it turned into something more intimate.

"I knew you would be able to put the pieces together." Jeb said, pressing his forehead to hers. "I should have never underestimated you. And I should have never taken Max from you. And because of that I need to take myself away from you."

Valencia nodded, understanding what he was referring to. "Good luck."

Jeb looked at her one last time before walking to his car where he would go to the lab and fix this mess. Where he had to do something for himself, one last time.

When I opened my eyes, I was disoriented. Everything was blurry, and…cold. I had no idea where I was, what time it was, when it was. I hated being so confused, but then when my vision cleared, I could see a window with small cables in the glass to prevent anyone from climbing out, or you know, flying out. It was dark, but there was one small lamp in the corner of the room. I walked over to the window and looked up at the stars, it was about ten o' clock.

"Good morning." A voice said from behind me.

I spun around, but went too fast because I wobbled and would've fallen if Jeb hadn't caught me.

"You should go lie back down." He said, leading me back to my bed, where I quietly obeyed and even let him tuck me in. I knew it was best for me.

We sat there for a while, waiting for the other to say something.

"I'm sorry, I know it's disorienting." Jeb apologized.

"Where am I? Where's Fang?" I asked, starting to panic as I realized that I had left him.

"Fang is fine, I think. You never know with him. The flock is fine, and your mother and sister are too." Jeb said.

I was in a science lab. My senses heightened, and felt adrenaline pound through my veins. "When do I get out of here?" I asked.

"Well, you need to wait a week."

"For testing? Because you know that I will be far from cooperative."

"No, you need to wait for the flock. They have this plan to finally kill Chu and save the world. There is just one minor complication." Jeb paused. "They all think that you are dead."

My throat closed up. "Including Fang?" I started to worry. How screwed was he? How much had he been hurt?

"Fang is fine. I've spoken to him myself."

"I doubt that. He barely speaks at all, why would he talk to you?" I asked in an accusing tone.

Jeb looked away. "Just, don't give anyone any trouble okay?"

"Okay, I guess will. Especially Chu since you just said so yourself that he is here in this building." I said, about to get out of bed.

Jeb pushed me back and looked at me like he would if I ever did something bad to Fang when we were younger. "Max, you are not to leave this room. I will chain you to the bed if that's what it takes."

I let him threaten me, knowing that he would never actually chain me to the bed.

He was just out of the room when I asked, "Jeb, was I dead?"

Jeb came back in. "Well, yes. But thanks to you and Fang I was able to bring you back to life."

"I think I was in Hell." I whispered. Jeb shut the door and sat down on the end of the bed.

"What makes you think that sweetie?"

"All I can remember is being hot, feeling like I was about to burst into flames, and seeing red everywhere. I could hear people screaming, and saw other people being led away in chains and then they were shoved in cages. And Jeb, _the people had wings_." I said, starting to shake from the memory.

"Well maybe it was a just a dream." Jeb suggested.

"No. It was just too real. Have other avian humans come before me Jeb? And are there still others out there?" I asked, starting to sound urgent.

"We've had reports. But you guys are so elusive that we don't know if it's a different flock or not. To answer your question, yes, we think there are others out there."

"They're being killed." I whispered so quietly, I don't think Jeb heard because he had left already.

I laid in bed for a while, and eventually drifted off to sleep. I had a dream, a nightmare really.

I was running down a hallway in a deserted building. Fang was waiting at the other end. But as I was running to him, I saw that down another corridor there was the flock, all of them with guns being pointed to their heads by these masked men, and there were other avian humans there too, all in the same position as the flock. I stood there, hearing Fang call my name and also hearing Angel's desperate cry for my help. As I looked at Fang again, he disappeared, and then I had a gun pointed to my head. Just as I heard the trigger get pulled, I woke up.

**What does this mean for the flock? Are they in danger? Well don't forget to look in a couple days! Oh, and uh…review I guess.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry. I think it's been more than a couple of days, but I've been super busy. Summer vacation and business does not equal a good mood. Anyway, since I'm not in a good mood, you can count on this being a sad chapter. I'm just sayin'! You never know, it could be a really happy chapter. What am I talking about? I already know what's gonna happen!**

I sat in a small plastic chair in the corner of the lab room that I had started to call home. It had been more than a week, and nothing had happened. Jeb lied to me after all, and as the nightmares continued, and the emptiness inside of me got progressively worse, I longed for what I had once taken for granted.

To make up for not being with Fang, I remembered the good times with him.

_FLASHBACK:_ I sat on the roof of Mom's house, looking at the night stars and the small sliver of moon that was showing. I was brought out of a reverie by a small scuffling noise. "Sorry." Fang whispered. "I meant to be more subtle."

I turned to face him and smiled as he sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I leaned on his shoulder. "You seem to have a problem with subtlety around me."

"Hey!" He protested.

I smiled even wider, even though he couldn't see it. "Just an observation I guess."

We sat there quietly for a while, both of us marveling at the beauty before our eyes. I saw a flash of light, and then noticed it was a meteor. Fang's head was leaning on mine, and his breathing had slowed, which meant he had fallen asleep. I shook his shoulder. "Fang, look." I whispered, pointing to the meteor.

"What? Oh, wow." He said. "Look, there's another one." He said, pointing to a different and much brighter meteorite. "It must be a shower."

"Hmm." I mused, snuggling my head into his neck. I sighed and checked the stars for the time, then got up. Fang had a look of protest on his face. "Time for bed."

Fang followed me inside, and we stood across from each other awkwardly for a little while. He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled away and glanced down the hallway at my mom's open door. "Hey, remember what I told you?" Fang whispered really quietly. "Don't worry about her."

"I know. But it's just so hard when we have to hide it, and keep it all in." I admitted.

"We don't need to hide it if the door is closed." Fang mumbled.

My eyes widened. "No!" I said loudly, dropping my voice. "No, I still need to save the world, and having a kid doesn't fit into that picture." I whispered angrily.

"Max, calm down. I'm talking about sleeping together, not having sex. And I didn't know you were," he coughed a little, "sexually mature?"

I playfully punched him in the chest. "I am in fact. And no making fun, because you are too Mr. I'm-no-string-bean-anymore." I smacked him in the butt after that.

He put on a mask of mock outrage and opened my door for me. I sighed but went in anyway. _END OF FLASHBACK._

I had gotten so depressed and bored I got upset about all the little things. I got so frustrated with my long hair at one time that I demanded Jeb cut it off, so now it just hung straight and limp at my shoulders. Sometimes I would lie on the floor and do crunches, or do push-ups just so I could stay in shape. Jeb had brought me fresh jeans and a new sweatshirt, which I took gratefully. But no matter how good the food was or how the fresh the clothes were, I would never feel…_good._ I would still have those memories of Fang slowly gnawing on the edges of my brain, the hole where my heart was supposed to be. I knew where my heart was, it was back at my mom's house, with Fang.

* * *

Fang stood in the ruined back room of Dr. M's house. He was sleeping in his old room now, well…trying to sleep. You know how Chuck Norris doesn't sleep? Neither does Fang. He and Chuck both wait.

The room was completely destroyed, and Ella and Nudge had both hung a large tarp over the even larger hole in the wall. Some of the floorboards were both in place still, but the rest were ripped out of the floor and laid at all different angles. The outside wall was no longer there, except for one spot that was protected by the bookshelf that was bolted to the wall. Pieces of ceiling were missing, revealing a gray and angry sky. On top of all of that, there was glass from the windows and feathers from the ripped pillows and mattress. The desk had been turned over, most likely by fighting, with the contents of the drawers spilling out.

Fang knelt down in the mess of charred pencils, notebooks, hair-ties, bobby pins, perfumes, some of his own colognes, there were even some 'lady products.' But what had caught his attention was a small notebook, no larger than a travel pack of tissues, with fake green alligator skin on the outside. There weren't any lines on the pages, so Max's remarkably neat handwriting covered the pages in the most unusual ways. Some pages it was upside-down, others it went in a zigzag pattern, one was even written in the shape of a swirl. The front pocket had a small pocket to stow pages in, and there was a yellowing page with small teardrop stains on it, and it was folded to fit in the diary.

He pulled it out, unfolding it. All he needed to do was read the first few lines to know what it was.

_Dear Max-_

_You looked so beautiful today. I'm going to remember what you looked like forever._

And Fang did remember what she looked like that day. Her dress was ivory, pink, and green. It had one fluffy strap, and it had sequins at the top, with a pink band around the waist. The skirt puffed out and had many layers of tool, but it was also cut short. Her hair was curled and pinned up, with a crown of small roses on her head. Nudge managed to put some eye make-up one, just some green and pink eye-shadow, mascara, and eye-liner, even managing some light pink shimmery lip gloss. She had a gold necklace on that belonged to Ella.

Fang didn't even think that Max would have kept his letter, in fact, he had hoped for her to throw it into a fire and fly off to look for him. A drop of rain fell on his shoulder, and another onto the letter. He wiped it off quickly. He put the heart-breaking letter into the notebook's pocket, and opened to the first page. This page had writing on it in the typical way.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's so cold. I'm numb to the bone with loneliness, and I feel as if I've been thrown into a frozen lake with only one layer of clothes on. I'm dehydrated, I can't cry anymore, my eyes are practically swollen shut, and my heart…it is no longer there. It's just an empty hole._

Fang forced himself to stop reading. He couldn't. Not only was that first page stained with rain drops, but also his tears. For the first time, Fang felt that absence in the world, the undeniable truth that he would never see Max again. He would never be able to touch her, hold her, comfort her from nightmares, and curl his body around hers in bed. It was like when Max died, he died too. He could feel himself slipping away, and he knew that all he had left of Max was her diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_I think I saw Fang today. Maybe I'm crazy, but I was in New York…_

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm still waiting for my prince to come save me. I know that's a cliché…_

_Dear Diary,_

_Dylan died, and Fang and I are back together at last…_

_Dear Diary, _

_Mom and I got in our first fight. Fang said not to worry about her…_

_Dear Diary,_

_Fang and I slept together last night. He and I am officially a thing…_

Entry after entry Fang read, all the way to the last one.

_Dear Diary,_

_For the first time in my life, I feel hope. I think I will actually be able to save the world, especially with Fang by my side. He is my right-wing-man, and I love him so much. When the world is saved and I'm 'eighteen' I want to marry him, have a family with him. Oops, I'm starting to cry. I'm crying because I just know it will all happen. We are gonna grow old together, and die together, and buried right next to each other. Neither of us needs to feel that emptiness inside that one of our deaths will bring. I know, we will do euthanasia. That way we can die together, we can die holding hands, and most importantly, PAINLESSLY! All those fights we have been in, I have always wondered if it would be my last, but we always win, sometimes by a landslide, sometimes just barely._

_Fang just walked into our room and asked why I was crying. I laughed at his expression on his face and shook my head. He's still standing there, looking at me. I'm not lying to you, I promise him. He just went into the bathroom to change, so I have another minute or so. _

_Oh, I love him so much. I know how it feels to live without him after he left, and I hope I never die so he doesn't need to feel that pain…_

It just kept going and going. It broke Fang's heart to read, and for a moment he thought he saw Max's face in the pages, but then it was gone. Max was really gone, and he couldn't do anything now. His heart had been ripped from his chest, and he didn't know what else to do. He felt a pull from somewhere off in the East, and thought that maybe it was just his heart pulling him in the direction of the lab where Max's body was.

**This was a really long chapter, but I couldn't find a good place to stop, so I just going. Tell me what you think! Which means review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's been a while. I've been pretty busy, so let's just chapter…6? Idk, let's just get on with the story.**

Over the next few weeks, Fang couldn't shake the feeling the Max was still out there, wanted to get to him but she was trapped. He and the flock hadn't discussed Jeb's plan any further, and they only saw him on occasion. Angel said that she had the feeling that something was going on between Jeb and Max's mom, but if there was, they never made it obvious.

Fang searched the internet for ways someone could possible come back from the dead. However, the quest seemed pointless when all he could find were links to books, like the Immortals Series, and then the Twilight series. Out of plain curiosity, he opened up to the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. He read the part where Bella had died, and Edward injected the venom into her heart to bring her back. Fang remembered Max telling him about how she had put all of the adrenaline into his chest to wake him up, and he suddenly had an idea.

"Flock!" he called, hearing them come from their random corners of the house.

"What is it?" Nudge asked.

Fang turned on his seat, seeing the flock gathered around him. "Anyone fancy a field trip?"

"Yeah, I guess I fancy one." Iggy said, snickering.

Fang shook his head. "Nudge, I need you to do me a favor. Can you look up every lab to the East of this area?"

"Yeah, I can trace them. But why the East?" she asked.

"Because I just have a feeling that the East is the best place to look." He replied.

Angel looked confused. "The East is the best place to look for Max?" she asked.

"Well, yeah." Fang said. There was a long, awkward silence. "Look, I know you all will probably think I am crazy when I say this, but I've been seeing Max. Nudge has too, and Angel said she'll start to fade the longer it's been, but she hasn't disappeared yet. Max must still be alive." Fang said quickly.

Nudge stood up. "Fang, I have been admiring your strength through all of this, but I haven't seen Max. She's really gone."

"She isn't gone. She can't be." Fang whispered.

Iggy stood up and put a hand on Fang's shoulder as Fang put his head in his hands. "Dude, I really don't know what to tell you."

Fang realized that everyone had left the room. "The only thing I need to hear is Max's voice. I need her to tell me that everything will be okay." And just like that he saw Max right in front of him. He looked up at her, and she was giving him a death stare that would've given anyone else the chills.

She put her hands on her hips. "Why haven't you saved me yet?" she asked, sounding frustrated.

_I thought it was too late._

"You idiot!" she said, slapping him upside the head.

"Ow!" Fang said out loud, earning a worried look from Iggy.

"I'm still alive you dumbass! I'm alive and trapped and if you don't come rescue me, I will make your life a living nightmare."

_Where are you?_

"I don't know. Somewhere in New York." She groaned.

_Institute for Higher Learning?_

"No, this place has windows. I can see the sky."

Fang thought a minute. _Well that really narrows it down._

"There's a lot of fields around here though. Maybe its like, some spot in New York that doesn't have the city in it." She said, snapping her fingers as she sat down on the edge of one of the couches.

_Max, I love you. And I just want you to know…_

"You're breaking up with me?" she asked, looking at him with a heartbreaking expression in her eyes.

_No, I just want you to know that if I can't get to you in time…_

"You are not going to give up! I will not die Fang, but I will not just sit here and wait for you to come after me any longer!" she shouted, vanishing as soon as she finished yelling.

The flock had all come back, and Fang stood up, gathering everyone's backpacks and jackets. He grabbed his own, larger backpack, and loaded it with throwing stars, knives, and finally, a gun. He put extra energy bars in his too. The last thing he put in it was Max's ring box. There was a silver ring in it, for a guy, and Max had the gold one. Fang had one half, she had the other. Fang had her heart, she had his, and he had to get it back.

"Who wants to go to New York?"

**I know, short again! But I'm kind of hitting a wall right now. I hope to tie some loose ends, but I might sever some that were tied a while back. Review…please. 3**


	7. Chapter 7

**So we're finally getting back to Fang: Part Three. This starts out with Fang and Jeb having a heated discussion. I don't know where it will go yet, but I'll just let it flow into something. It takes place months after Max 'died.' Oh, and if you need an amazing depressing movie, I just watched Remember Me, with Robert Pattinson in it. It's AMAZING! But it's for older teens, definitely not for ppl that are like, 13-14 years old. Anyway….**

"Fang, I've been over this with you before: Max died weeks ago." Jeb lied. He and Fang were in Dr. M's living room, Fang was standing in the middle of the room, with Jeb leaning casually against the wall. The flock was spread out sitting in various parts of the room. "Unless you can give me proof that she's alive, than I would keep my mouth shut and begin the healing process."

"Give me proof that she's dead first." Fang challenged.

Jeb sighed and took a long look around the room before he took out a small cream envelope, opening it before withdrawing a small item that was in the shape of a circle. It was gold, with colored stones placed in it.

Fang practically sprinted forward. "Where did you find this?" he asked as he snatched the ring from Jeb's hand. "You're right." He whispered.

"She would have never just handed it over Fang." Jeb told him quietly. Another lie of many, which were mounting up faster and heavier everyday. Jeb nodded and shuddered at the memory.

_FLASHBACK: _Max was sitting on the windowsill when Jeb went in the room. "Hey, I need to ask you for a favor."

Max jumped up. "Sure, I'd do anything for you. Especially since whatever trust I had in you before is now shot because you promised me that I would have been out of here months ago." She rolled her eyes.

"This is actually important Max, and it does have something to do with you getting out of here."

She rolled her eyes again. "Tell me Jeb, since you are keeping me here, how are those plans for saving the world coming?" she taunted.

"Actually this is part of it." Jeb said, looking her straight in the eye. "Max, I need the ring."

"What ring?" Max asked.

"The ring that Fang gave you." Jeb clarified.

Max took several steps back, until she hit the wall. "No. Way. In. Hell." She said really slowly, getting her point across. "And that reminds me, since you are planning to save the world without me, go ahead and enjoy yourself there."

"You are still going to be a part of saving the world Max – "

"No Jeb I'm not…If I can't control how everything will go, I won't do it at all. I know that sounds vain, but this is my mission. Nobody else is fulfilling it." I told him.

Jeb stood silent for a moment, unsure about what to say. Max took his silence he wrong way.

"Fine." She said, sliding her ring off and tossing it to him. "Take it. You have taken everything else from me."_ END OF FLASHBACK._

"This isn't the real ring." Fang told Jeb. "The ring I gave Max was smaller; this one would have fit on her thumb." Fang said, handing the ring back to Jeb, where he turned it over in his hands with wonder in his eyes.

Fang wasn't about to give up so easily. He stomped out of the room, unnaturally loud for him. Max was walking next to him. He knew it; he could feel her presence in everything he did. When he eat, he could practically hear her munching on cereal next to him, when he was asleep he could feel her hugging herself close to him. But he couldn't see her anymore. She didn't even talk to him anymore.

Nudge tapped him on the shoulder. "I'll still go to New York Fang." She told him, her big brown eyes looking misty.

Fang patted her head, shaking his head. "I think I am going to have to go at this alone." He said, walking to his room. Nudge disappeared down the steps, and Fang had his back to Max's door when he heard a loud squeak.

He looked over his shoulder at her now-open bedroom door. He and Iggy had silently put in a new wall and ceiling so the room was protected from the elements. It was an unspoken rule that no one was allowed in Max's room anymore, the pain you endure from it would be too great and everyone would need to get over her death all over again.

But Fang went in anyway. He walked to the bed where he saw a glint of gold, nestled on top of a blue sheet of paper. Max's handwriting was on it.

_Dear Fang, I understand what you're telling me. You aren't going to save me anyway. Oh well. I'll get out Fang, but don't expect me to come back to you. Why should I when you obviously don't care about me? Take the ring back; I don't need another reminder of your empty promises. –Max_

This was the real ring. How Max tricked Jeb into thinking that he had the real one Fang didn't know, he just knew that he had proof and he had a logical reason to go to New York.

He put the ring in the box that it had come in that Fang always had in his pocket as he bounded down the steps, taking them three-at-a-time. He slapped the note down on the table in front of Jeb.

"There is your proof." Fang fumed. "I just found it. If anyone else wants to come with Nudge and I, we're going to New York." Fang said, getting his backpack out of the closet as Nudge followed behind him.

They took off into the night, and soon Nudge talked. "Where are we going in New York?" she asked.

Fang looked behind him and saw the rest of the flock catching up to them. "Well, we need to stop by the Bronx."

"What's there?" Iggy called.

"There's just some unfinished business I have to take care of there." Fang whispered, not knowing if they heard him.

* * *

Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…the door to my 'room' opened. I pulled my back up off the floor and propped my elbows up on my knees. "What do you want Jeb?"

"One day. You have my word on that Max. Your note was genius." Jeb told her, smiling in a comforting way.

"Wait, my note? What note? I didn't write a note." I said, shaking my head while standing up.

"The note you wrote to Fang, leaving your ring on it." Jeb clarified.

I shook my head again, feeling horror grip me and hold me tightly. "Jeb, I gave you the fake ring, but this is the real one." I pointed to my right hand, where the real ring was still on my ring finger. "Do you think someone is trying to hurt the flock?"

Jeb looked down at the floor and crossed his arms. He looked back up at Max. "I don't know Max, but maybe I should let you out of here, take you somewhere safe."

"What? But the flock would come here for nothing." I pointed out.

"I'll get in touch with them."

The lights in the room went out, and the emergency lights went on seconds later. "Jeb, I'm having a really bad case of déjà vu right now." I told him, remembering the day I was taken from Mom's house. The door behind Jeb burst open and people came in, and soon there were guns pointed to both Jeb's head and mine.

"Talk when we tell you not to, and we pull the triggers." One of the men said. The emergency lights cast an eerie red glow everywhere.

One man grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder, and another put Jeb in hand-cuffs and then pushed him out, taking me with them. I hoisted myself up, so I didn't have a stranger's butt in my face and saw another man looking right in my eye as he said, "Time for the mutant to die." Then everything went dark.

**Let's hope Fang gets there in time. Review please.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so, I am sorry if it seems like I'm updating really fast, but its summer time, so I've been super bored. Plus I type up these chapters super fast, so it's NBD to me. Onto Chapter 8, this starts with Fang and the rest of the flock visiting someone.**

Fang hesitated at the door, not sure if he should knock or ring the doorbell. The flock was out getting something to eat, but he told them to wait up for him and that he was going to get something from the store.

He rapped on the door three times, and counted to seven before it swung open, revealing a woman in pajama pants and a tank-top, holding a cup of coffee in one hand. She had dark hair and tan skin, and her eyes were dark too. She didn't have an easily read expression on her face, but her tone gave it away. "Can I help you with something?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Umm…Hi. I'm F-Nick. Are you Kathy Warren?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, how do you know my name?" Kathy backed up a couple steps, starting to push the door closed.

"When you were sixteen, you had a son. You sold him to a science lab, and then proceeded to live your life off the money you got from your son." Fang said, taking a step closer, putting his hand in the door frame to keep the door open.

Kathy opened the door though and stared at Fang with wide eyes. "Oh my God." She whispered. "Oh God, come in here. You must be exhausted." She said, leading Fang into a kitchen, where she retrieved another mug for him. "Do you drink coffee? I bet you do, you look like you do. What did you say your name was?" she asked hurriedly.

"Uh, well, I've kind of adopted the name Nick as a cover, but to everyone else that knows me I go by Fang." He said, taking the mug of coffee gratefully.

"Are you staying, or is this just a stop on your quest to save the world?" she asked. Fang didn't answer. "I knew it was you when you were brought to my house that night. I never got to talk to you though." She said, shaking her head. "You left."

Fang cracked a smile. "Yeah, the flock makes fun of me a lot about my evasion techniques."

"Well I guess it helps when you have a sixteen-foot wingspan." Kathy said with a laugh. "When do you need to leave again?"

"Right now." Fang said regretfully. "I just needed to know that it was definitely you. I wasn't sure, but I hated not knowing." He said, walking to the door.

"Nick," Kathy called from the counter when Nick got to the door. "I want you to know that I didn't give you away because I did not want you, I'm a doctor. And when I was sixteen, my family didn't have enough money to send me to medical school, and Jeb Batchelder – I assume you know him – he promised that he would take good care of you later on in life if I gave you to him, and that he would pay for my schooling." Fang tightened up when he heard about Jeb. "He's a good guy, and I don't know what your past with him is like, but he does have your best interests at heart." She said. She took a sip of coffee before continuing. "And that includes Max."

"How'd you know about the two of us?" Fang asked.

"I watch the news Fang. With the way the two of you are always spotted together, it can be pretty easy to figure out." Kathy said. "Now go save the world. And remember that you and the flock are always welcome here."

"Thanks. That means a lot to us." Fang said, but when he got out the door he knew that he didn't mean it. He didn't even know if he was going to be alive past that day.

* * *

I woke up on a cold stone floor. The red everywhere was gone, but now it was dark. Not dark enough for humans to not see in it, but it was pretty close. My hands were tied behind my back, and those guys must have been pretty trusting that I wouldn't get up.

They knew I was awake, because one grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and hoisted me up to my knees and held me that way, forcing me to look at the guy I assumed to be their leader. "Well, well, well." He said, walking toward me. He had a big black trench coat on; he looked no older than thirty. "I'm Dave. I'm Kathy Warren's husband."

"Okay, so am I supposed to know who that is?" I asked, shaking my head.

"I am Fang's stepfather." My heart started to beat faster, and my head was pounding as I realized that Fang made a very big mistake: he went looking for his mom. And in return he found a psychopath, and for the first time in months I felt the white lightning of adrenaline pouring into my veins.

"Now, enough of the casual conversation, it's time for you to die." He said, taking out a silver dagger and aiming it at my heart.

"Wait." I said. "Where's Jeb?"

"We let him go. He would rather have you die than give himself up for you. Isn't that sad, isn't he your father?" I didn't answer. "Well, nice idea to stall us, but it didn't work."

"No, it didn't. But this will." I said, grabbing the throwing star that was in the back pocket of my jeans, tossing it up, catching it with my teeth, and throwing it at the guy holding me. It hit him in the temple, and he crumpled. When I had tossed the throwing star from my pocket, it had also severed the ties holding my hands.

I jumped to my feet, kicked a guy in his lungs making him fall to the ground, gasping for air like a cream puff he probably was. "Mistake Number 1: Leaving your captive on the floor with weapons still on them." I said, punching a guy in the chest, making him go down.

One guy landed a pretty solid kick to my side, making me hiss in pain. Then another one got me square in between my wings. "Oh my God." I cried. I fell in a heap to the cold floor, willing myself not to cry.

"No, Mistake Number 1 is believing that we did that by accident." Dave whispered in my ear before clocking me in the head. Soon, everything was dark again.

**Are they going to kill Max? I'll get the next chapter up ASAP, but I just went over my schedule for this next week, and it's busy! Just review and encourage me.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I know I'm updating really soon, but I don't have anything else to do right now, so I'm adding on. Plus I couldn't wait to write this chapter.**

The flock flew over New York, and soon found the lab in question. They burst in, but soon found that everything was dark. The flock reached a fork in the hallway. Fang decided that it was time for him to take charge. "Okay, Iggy and Gazzy take the hallway on the left, Nudge and Angel take the air ducts, and I'll take this hallway on the right."

They all nodded and went their own ways. Fang walked down the deserted hallway, and noticed that all of the doors to labs were closed, except for one. Fang pulled out the gun and peeked in the room…

"Jeb?" Fang asked. Jeb was hanging by his wrists, his head drooping to the side. Fang lifted Jeb's head by the hair, saw his eyes and knew the unspeakable truth. "Holy crap." Jeb's eyes still had a small twinkle in them, and he was still breathing.

"Fa…Fang." He whispered through strangled breaths. "T-tell Max…that…I'm s-sorry…and tha-that I love…her. And tell…Val…the…s-same…" Jeb was getting hard to hear, even with raptor hearing. "T-tell the…fl-flock…I am…sorry…and th-that, I st-still…c-care…" his eyelids drooped, and Fang knew. Jeb wasn't breathing anymore, he was gone. Fang untied Jeb's wrists and laid him on an empty bed, stepping back and suddenly feeling sweaty.

"I'll tell them." He said, tears stinging his eyes. With that said, Fang sprinted out of the room. He had to save Max, if Jeb was dead, what had they done to Max? He searched every lab there was, and was beginning to lose hope when he had reached the second-to-last lab and there was no one in there.

With his hand on the doorknob, Fang paused, taking a deep breath, pacing himself. Without warning Angel popped into his head.

_Iggy and Gazzy are loading this joint up. We have a visual of Max, we're dropping down and taking out all the guys; there's about ten of them, so no problem for Nudge and I. You need to get Max. She hasn't moved, but she's alive. For now. She's wishing she were dead._

The last bit of information bit into him like a rattlesnake. His heart was pounding, and he heard the air ducts in the lab suddenly implode, with Angel and Nudge toppling out of them. Fang wrenched the door open and immediately found Max in the middle of a circle of well-built men.

The men fell on Angel and Nudge like vultures, while Fang took off into the air to get over them into the middle of the circle. He crouched down by Max, rolling her over. He realized his hands were cold and that they were also covered with Jeb's blood.

Max's eyes were closed, and Fang felt as if time had stopped. Insert beating heart sound. Fang pressed his fingers to Max's wrist, feeling her pulse pound strongly. He pressed his hands to the pressure point on her neck, and her eyes slowly opened. "Fang." She whispered. "You did come."

"I never got to say goodbye." Fang whispered before kissing her. "Now let's get you out of here." He cradled her in his arms, taking off into the air, calling to Angel and Nudge to bail, and he flew out of the lab, not bothering to look back. Max nuzzled herself closer to him, and then looked up at him. Fang glanced down at her.

"I always knew you would come for me. I knew you wouldn't let me go without telling me you loved me first." She was smiling, and then she frowned. "God, I'm going to kill Jeb." She said.

"What?" Fang asked, shocked by her words.

"He left me to die." Max whispered.

Fang looked up as Iggy and Gazzy flew out of the smoke cloud that had come from the lab when it had blown up.

When the flock arrived at Dr. M's house, Max's mom was the first one out. She covered her mouth with her hand and ran toward Fang, who was still holding Max despite the fact that she was just as heavy as him, maybe a little lighter. She had fallen asleep on the ride over, and didn't stir when her mom brushed hair back from her face.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Dr. M asked.

Fang shook his head, leading the way into the house. "She's fine. I mean, she's lost a lot of weight; she can't be anymore than eighty-five pounds. And she said that her wings are bruised, and she has a cracked rib. She's tired, as you can see. I'm just gonna lay her down on my bed." Fang said, going into his room and laying her down on his bed.

"Where's Jeb?" her mom asked.

The flock all went quiet. After Max had been asleep for a while, Fang had told them about Jeb, and what he had said. Nobody really knew what to say, and eventually Angel opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

"Umm…" Nudge began, tears filling her eyes, "I think we should go. You know, leave Fang and Dr. M alone with Max." she said, looking at the remaining members of the flock and Ella and nodding to the door.

Dr. M looked around the room as everyone walked out of the room, and then she put her hands on her hips. Fang looked at Max to make sure she was out cold before he spoke. "Dr. Martinez, when we went to save Max, well, the people that had attacked her they had taken Jeb too." Dr. M covered her mouth and sniffed back tears. "And well, he said to tell you that he's sorry and that he loves you."

She sat down on the bed with her hands over her eyes and began to sob. Fang sat down next to her and put his arm around her shaking shoulders.

They sat like that for a few minutes and eventually Dr. M's crying quieted and she got up to leave the room.

**So everyone knows about Jeb except for Max. What will happen when she finds out? Review, and tell all your friends about these stories! I need more reviews.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while. I've been working on my other two stories, Ten Years Later; some of you have already checked that one out. But then I just put a new one called Maximum Ride: the Revolution. No wings and takes place in the colonies during the American Revolution. There is FAX. Anyway, check it out if you get a chance, and don't forget to review. **

**Also, I really liked the reviews for this last chapter. Some of them were a little unnecessary, but don't worry Mr. Whatever, I laughed. You obviously didn't read past Chapter 1. Anyway, just don't forget to review and tell your friends about this story! Onto Chapter, hold on, I need to check this…Chapter 10. **

**$Linkin Park Rocks!$**

Everything hurt, that's what I remembered. Because of my rib, I had to stay on my back, which made the pain in my wings that much worse. I would sleep for hours, and then wake up and use the bathroom or eat some soup that Iggy had made for me. The whole time Fang was there, and that shouldn't have bothered me except for the fact that he was never alone, and I needed to talk to Fang…alone.

I had finally cracked the code, solved the mystery of how to save the world. I just had to run the plans by my second-in-command before we told anyone. I just knew I wasn't going to tell Jeb, because he would never approve. He'd say that we were getting off track. We were getting distracted and we weren't focusing on saving the world.

When I woke up I was aware of someone laying beside me, and stroking my hair and face softly. I opened my eyes, and Fang kissed me on the cheek. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

I stretched and groaned.

"I see. Please tell me I can get you something. I hate seeing you like this and not doing anything about it." He said, holding my hand as I sat up, clutching my ribs.

"I'll be fine. Where's my mom? I haven't talked to her since I've been home. Is she off somewhere canoodling with Jeb or something? God, I hate him so much." I said spitefully.

Fang was quiet for a while, which was unusual for the two of us because if we're not kissing we're chatting away. Then I realized that we were alone, and I could finally talk to him about my plan.

"We need to talk." We both said at the same time.

I smiled. "Do you have good news or bad news? Because I have good news."

"Then go ahead."

I took a deep breath and grasped his shoulders. "I know how to save the world. It came to me a while ago. Like, the first week after I had woken up. There are a couple steps to it, a lot of killing and blowing up and saving, but I really think it'll work." I sighed. "Unfortunately we need to find out who is playing with you."

"Playing with me?" Fang repeated.

I calmed myself down a little bit. "Well, someone got the same ring as me, and told you that I didn't want you anymore. I swear to God it wasn't me, because I've had the real ring the whole time. I fooled Jeb into thinking that he had the real one. Speaking of, do you think he could get it back to me because I want to give it to Ella for her birthday." I said. "But this is awesome! Maybe if this enemy is part of the cooperation we need to take down to save the world!"

"Max," Fang said slowly, looking me in the eye in a way that made feel self-conscious, "Jeb is dead." He whispered.

"What? No, Jeb was let go." I said, shaking my head.

Fang nodded. "Yeah, and then he got captured and murdered."

I sat back against the headboard of the bed. "Are you sure?"

"He died right in front of me Max. It was too late to save him. It would've been time I wasted that I could've used to save you." He said.

I pulled my legs up to my chest, propping my chin on my knees, ignoring the pain. As tears started to come down my face, I buried my face in between my knees and cried. Fang pulled me onto his lap, pressing my face into his chest. He cradled me, rocking me back and forth.

Jeb was dead? There was no way. My father was dead? There was still no way. There was no way that he could be dead. He had always been there. I felt like I was going back to when I was twelve, and Jeb had disappeared, and we had to tell the kids that he was dead. That was only three years ago? It seemed like centuries. So much had changed. There weren't anymore Erasers. The School was gone. Fang was my boyfriend.

So then why did everything feel different, and foreign? Fang and I couldn't risk anymore death missions; we were running out of lives.

**I know it's kind of short, but that's all I'm doing for now. You can expect an update every three days or so, because I'm gonna be typing up a chapter for each of my stories every three days, and then I'll just update all at the same time. Anyway, review please! Oh yeah, my sister has been typing stuff up for me. She's Linkin Park Rocks. But it's still me writing it all.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~ **


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry, I know it's been a while. Give me your reviews guys! This is one of your last chances this week!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**Oh, and I just remembered that I haven't done a disclaimer for this story yet. I probably should do that…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Maximum Ride that JP does, but I do own Fang's mom and stepfather, Fang's enemy, the Enemies, and…I think that's it. Oh well, I still don't own anything.**

I was sitting on the roof later that night. I was just thinking, thinking about how I could possibly save the world when Jeb had died. Thinking about how my brilliant plan didn't seem so brilliant after I found out that the information we needed about this group called the Enemies –original name, I know- had died with Jeb.

Everything that we needed to know about saving the world; it was gone. We were really alone now, Jeb didn't just disappear, he died. Taking all of his secrets, lies, and helpful little tips with him.

Fang came up and sat by my side. We sat there quietly for a while, looking at the setting sun, now obscured by the mountains. "You have information about the Enemies, right?" he eventually asked.

"No. All of the information about them died with Jeb." I whispered.

Fang was quiet. Then he stood up fast. "Wait, say that again. Say what you just said again."

"All of the information about them died with Jeb." I said. "Holy crap! Those people that tried to kill me, they're the Enemies!" I nearly shouted. I brought my voice down a bit. "I wish I knew who the leader was." I whispered. Fang didn't hear me.

"We killed them." He said.

"There's more out there." I said. "And we have to kill them too. They know where all of the other mutants are. That's how we're going to save the human race."

"We're going to save the human race by killing people? That's ironic." Fang sat back down. "Well, I know where we can start."

"What, how?"

"Angel was able to weasel information out of the leader's head, and well, he's my stepfather." Fang said.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I know. He told me that. But is he telling the truth."

"Yes. Which means we need to go back to New York."

"What's in New York?" I asked, really suspicious.

"My mom." Fang said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up.

* * *

"Nudge, this is a mission for Fang and me only. In the meantime, Iggy is in charge. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but—"

"Two days tops." Fang cut in. "Max and I need to do this alone because it's for big kids only. And it's cross-country and Max and I are the fastest flyers here, so it'll be faster if it's just the two of us."

We were having a flock meeting out on the porch of the house. Ella was curled up in a ball next to Iggy on the swinging bench. Gazzy and Nudge were perched on the railing, and Angel sat cross-legged on the floor. Fang had just been leaning against one of the pillars until he noticed that explaining we would both be leaving wasn't going so well.

"Yes, but," Gazzy began, "you two are also our best fighters, and we all remember what happened last time the two of you left."

"Which time?" Iggy asked.

"The time when Erasers attacked the house when Max and Fang were at the 'store'—"

"I was at the store!" I defended, but Gazzy kept going.

"—and then we split up, the four of us plus Dylan and Total got that radioactive stuff, then those two came to our rescue, Angel tried to kill Max, we got back together, Angel left us, Fang left and died. Then Max went and saved Fang, brought him back to life, we went to Total and Akila's wedding, Fang left, Max tried to kill her—"

"Okay Gazzy!" I said loudly. "We all get it; bad things happen when Fang and I leave, but we have to do this."

"It would be a lot faster if just Max went. Fang, you can fly fast and all," Angel said, "but not nearly as fast as Max."

"We would do that, except this mission is for Fang." I explained.

Iggy leaned to Ella to whisper in her ear. "…just want to go to make-out and have sex…OW!" he exclaimed as I held up another rock to throw at him.

"That's my sister, don't scar her for life." I threatened him.

"I wasn't talking about you two, I was talking about Ella and I." he lied. But then he noticed that he just made it worse for himself. "I meant that I was talking about Ella and I just knowing that you two—"

"Just put your shovel down at anytime you want Ig." Fang said, cutting him off.

Angel, the little mind-reading demon child decided to cut in. "Guys, Fang and Max are being serious about this. It's the first step in saving the world."

"Oh, so now we're back to Max saving the world again!" Gazzy said loudly. "Why is it always her that has to save the world?"

"Because it's my job Gazzy." I told him.

"Oh, yeah, it's great; you were created to save the world, what about us? What were we created for?" Gazzy protested.

"Enough!" I yelled. "Fang and I are going to New York and maybe if you're lucky we'll consider coming back. Maybe we'll just stay gone and have sex and save the world, just the two of us!" I screamed, picking up my backpack, leaping off the porch and into the air with Fang right behind me.

He flew below me and took my hand so he could hold it. "You know," he said after a long silence. "I did like the sound of that."

I swooped down so I could smack his head. But I couldn't deny the fact that I liked how that sounded too.

**I hope you enjoyed it. Review please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey. I'm back. I wouldn't expect another chapter after this one for a couple weeks, but then I have a couple weeks or so after my mission trip where I'll be able to update and maybe even finish this book. Probably not, but after I finish this one I'll start to work on the sequel ASAP. But for now, enjoy and don't forget to review! It's your last chance!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~ **

**Linkin Park is better. $LinkinParkRocks$**

**How can you say that? You go to Penn State! I don't! ~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**Sucks for you. Especially because Mom won't let you have the keys to the Mustang for shopping today. $LinkinParkRocks$**

**Shopping? We are going to pick out boulders for the pool dumbass. Boulders don't even fit in the Mustang! ~PennStateGRL4eva~**

We flew for a while and eventually Fang switched hands because the one he was holding up must've lost circulation in it. "Are you up to this?" Fang asked. "I mean, I know for a fact that you are not completely healed yet."

"I'm healed enough." I said, swooping in a large, graceful arc around him to prove my point. Then I flew extra fast and stopped when I was about twenty miles ahead of him. I flew back quickly, and he was grinning. I turned around to fly next to him.

"Point taken." He brushed his wings against mine. I looked over at him and he had the same stoic expression on his face that he had been wearing the entire flight so far. I sped up and turned my back so I was flying backwards – harder than it sounds but it was still a skill needed in order to be able to fight and remain aloft – and faced him with my No-funny-business-because-you-can't-lie-to-me face.

"So what gives? What is in New York that has something to do with your stepdad? Oh, and I'm sorry about that by the way." I added, knowing that from his expression he was upset about it.

"It's not that my stepdad was evil that's bothering me. It's something else. Do you want to take a break, find a tree to chill in?" he asked.

I looked down, we had just started to go over Kansas, and there were big dark clouds hovering below us. I looked North-West and saw a lush forest. "Sure. Quick detour."

We swooped over to the woods, which happened to be right on the border of Kansas and Nebraska. I sat on a large limb, straddling it. The branch shook when Fang landed in front of me.

"So, are you gonna talk now?" I asked.

"Yeah, you see, I'm not upset about my stepdad being evil and trying to kill you, it's just that…" he broke off, struggling to say it.

"Fang, honey, what is it?" I asked, stroking his cheek, and then moving down to his bicep and shoulder. Fang caught my hand and held it, kissing the back. I was shocked when I realized that this was the first real alone time we'd had since I was kidnapped and 'killed.'

He took a deep breath. "It's just that, he tried to kill you, and I was part of it." Fang looked away, dropping my hand and avoiding my shocked gaze. "Back, before you know, that whole lab destruction mess, I was shot in New York." I flinched, remembering just ditching him on the street, practically bleeding to death. Who was that girl? Fang kept talking. "I passed out, and then I woke up in this apartment. It was a doctor's apartment, and she contacted Jeb, got all the information needed and patched up my wing. There was this man there, the doctor's husband, and he helped her fix my wing. He was told everything by the woman, who's name is Kathy. She told him about you, me, and the flock. He was my stepdad, and so he figured out where to find you. And then he tried to k-kill you." He shuttered, and I reached out to turn his face toward mine. He looked at me, and I saw it. Mr. Emotional Rock had tears in his eyes.

"Your stepdad…so Kathy is your biological mother? That's why we're going to New York?" I asked. I felt so shocked, I felt like we had switched roles. I had no way of showing my feelings at the moment, and he was sitting in front of me pouring his heart out.

Fang nodded. "You almost died, no; you did die, because of me. Dylan was right; you are in danger as long as we're together." He swung his one leg over so he was sitting on the branch with both legs on one side. He buried his face in his hands and actually started to cry.

_Max, come on. This is your soul mate, reach out to him. He would do the same to you._ The Voice said. I wasn't sure if it was the Voice, or just my own conscience, but I still scooted over next to him and put my arms around his strong torso, and he looked up. Seeing Fang with tears streaked on his face was a little unnerving, so I wiped them away with my thumbs.

"Fang, how many times have I told you?" I asked him. "I have been in danger my while life, everyday I am in danger. Dylan had it all wrong. We're not in danger when we're together; no, we're in danger as long as we're apart. I've always felt so safe as long as you're with me. We've been apart enough that I know that."

He turned his face so that he was looking right at me, and then suddenly grabbed my face in his hands so he could kiss me. At first we were a little gentle with each other but then we both got more wanting, and hungry. My hands knotted into his long hair, and he grabbed me by the waist and shoved me against the trunk of the tree, and I worked my lips across his face, tasting the salt on his cheeks from his tears.

Fang pulled back, looking me right in the eyes as he said, "Marry me Max."

**Cliffy, I know. Review please! It's your last chance for two weeks!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	13. Chapter 13

**I am so sorry! I know it has been a while, but I've hit a major writer's block and every time I have gone to start this chapter, I've hated it. So this will probably be a really crappy chapter, but I really don't care.**

**Oh yeah, and I just remembered. Some of you have asked how old Fang and Max are and I think that they are about to turn sixteen-ish. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

_ Fang pulled back, looking me right in the eyes as he said, "Marry me Max."_

My breathing stopped, and I froze. Never in my life did I imagine I would hear those words, but I always knew that when I did I would whoop with joy and jump up and down. But here I was, dead silent and dead still. If I were Fang, I would've been invisible. Granted, jumping up and down is difficult when you are on a branch, but I would have found a way to do it.

"Max?" Fang asked. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head to clear it out. "Just give me some space to breathe."

"It's a bad idea. I see." He said, looking down, actually sounding…_embarrassed._

I shook my head again, but this time it was in disagreement. "No, it's not that. It's just that, it's a little soon don't you think? We're not even sixteen yet! It's illegal!"

"Not in New Hampshire." He pointed out. Yeah, I knew that. Angel had said that before when she first told me that Fang loves me. "And when has the law stood in our way before?"

"A lot of times, and we ignore it. But Fang, I'm not ready for a commitment like that. I mean, I'm already committed to saving the world, and taking care of the flock, and if I take on anything else, I think my head will explode!" I exclaimed.

"You know how in the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Will and Elizabeth decide to get married in the middle of that fight because they're scared they won't be able to get married later? Because one of them is dead?" I nodded, already knowing where this was going to go. "That's how I am feeling now. I feel like now may be the only time to get married, because one of us may not be alive tomorrow."

"That doesn't change the fact that it is illegal."

Fang grasped both of my hands in his. "Max, please." He pleaded.

"No Fang!" I yelled, standing up. "I don't want to marry you!" Where had that come from? I wanted to marry him, but it was too soon.

He backed away from me like I had slapped him, he probably felt like I did slap him. "You don't…want to…marry me?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to say that I did, but something entirely different came out. "Fang, we're teenagers. Everyone has infatuations. This is one of them. We're young, naïve, reckless, and I don't want to be those people that get married at eighteen, have a kid one year later and grow up regretting it because they rushed everything." I paused, completely horrified about what I had said. I opened my mouth to apologize about what I had just said but again, something entirely different came out. "I don't even think I love you anymore."

"Max, where is this coming from? We just made out and now you don't love me anymore?" he asked.

"Just leave me alone Fang! Go! Get away from me!" I shouted.

He reached out his hand to touch me. "Max…"

"NO!" I screamed, and went to slap away his hand when my head was suddenly in so much pain it felt like it would explode. All I could think about was the pain, and I lost my balance on the branch and felt air whooshing past me. Then I hit something hard, screaming again as new pain erupted in my side.

I heard Fang call my name, but I couldn't answer. Tears leaked out of my eyes and I was aware of Fang wiping them away. "Max!" he yelled in my ear, but I still couldn't answer him. Instead, I screamed in agony. This was so much worse than the brain attacks I got in New York, and I writhed on the ground in utter agony, making my side hurt even more. I kept screaming and Fang grabbed my wrists and knees to hold me down. I started to cough from screaming so much, and felt blood come out.

"OH GOD, MAX!" Fang shouted. He wiped the blood away, but then I hurled and out came more blood. Fang touched my side that I had hurt lightly and gasped as I coughed up more blood. "Holy crap." He whispered, and then everything was dark.

**Oh no! What's wrong with Max? This was a pretty dramatic chapter, and I'll update ASAP, but don't forget to review!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey Guys and Dolls! Honestly, I don't know of any guys that would be reading this. Anyway, I don't have much to say, so I'm just going to get on with the story. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I heard a beeping noise, sounding a lot like a heart monitor. The beeping was fast, so fast that it matched my pounding heart, exactly. The smell of anesthetic and sanitizer and sterilizer filled my nose. I could feel someone squeezing my hand, hard, and what felt like a forehead resting on the top.

I drew in a deep breath and moaned. Breathing hurt; I must have had some broken ribs. Then I felt pressure on the inside of my elbow. Was that an IV? I groaned and opened my eyes reluctantly. Oh crap. I was in the hospital. Where was the hospital? I saw that Fang was the one resting his head on my hand.

I mustered up the strength to squeeze his hand. "Fang…" I whispered.

His head snapped up and I saw that he had dark circles under his eyes. He must not have slept much. "Max, oh my gosh, how are you feeling? Oh, I'm sorry. This is all of my fault." Fang was avoiding looking me in the eyes, and he was speaking to me differently. Like I was dangerous. Or there was something else wrong with me. "Valencia!" he called suddenly.

Mom appeared in the door and then ran toward me after seeing that I was awake. "Thank goodness that you are awake." She whispered, but her tone matched Fang's. She too was talking to me like I was insane.

"I don't get it…how did I get here?" I asked. The last thing I remember is Fang asking me to marry him. Had I fainted? And how was it Fang's fault? Did he not catch me before I hit the ground?

I may have missed the reason for my being there, but I didn't miss the worried and knowing look that passed between Mom and Fang. When did they get so close anyway? Since I had been back, Mom was still tense with me.

"Okay, what aren't you two telling me?" I asked, not standing the silence.

Fang's eyes were wide. "We're not hiding anything Max." he said. He was actually going to lie to me.

Hang on – was he mad because I never gave him an answer about marrying him? Did I want to marry him? Damn yes! "Oh, Fang, I am so sorry. I never gave you an answer. Of course I'll marry you!" I exclaimed, but I was still weak, and it came out as more of a croak.

"Max, you said that you didn't even love me and now you want to –"

"Fang." Mom said in a warning tone. They exchanged that look again, and this time it seemed like there was an entire conversation being packed into it.

"What are you talking about? Of course I love you! How could I not?" I asked him, beginning to get extremely aggravated. Was I dreaming? Of course I was dreaming, and if I just pinched myself I would wake up.

"Max, we can't get married." Fang said quickly, before Mom could stop him.

I shrunk away from the words like he had slapped me. I tried to sink down lower into the pillows, trying to hide myself. "We can't get married? Why not?" Tears were starting to prick at my eyes. This was no longer a dream; it was a nightmare.

"Just, some things have come up. Marriage will make it difficult for us to work through them." He said.

"What kind of things?" I asked. I was beginning to get extremely pissed.

"Things that I'll explain later." Fang said.

I gave him a death glare. "But if it involves me, than I have a right to know. I have a right to know now."

Fang looked down, hesitating. Then he looked at me, and I was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes. "Max, you're going to die."

**I know it's short, but I have severe writer's block. I'll update ASAP. Review please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry, I know it's been a while. But I've been on vacation at the beach, and that was awesome. Not much else to say other than to enjoy this chapter, it'll be…interesting. Evil laugh.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I felt like I had just been punched in the gut by one hundred Erasers. Instinctively, my left hand flew up to the back of my neck, but it didn't feel any different. Tears stung my eyes. "What?"

Fang nodded, obviously not willing to say it again. Mom left the room with both hands covering her face.

"What?" I asked again. "No, I can't die. Not again! We just got back together; we can't be separated again so fast!" I could feel a panic attack coming on, and I didn't need to have one in the hospital because the doctors probably thought I was Miss Loony-Tunes already, next they would lock me in a padded cell. "Can't we stop this?"

"Max, do you remember anything that happened a few days ago?" Fang asked me seriously. I shook my head. "You had some sort of…brain attack. Not like the ones you used to have, but it was similar, only you were acting like you were possessed. You were crazy, you told me you hated me and that you would never marry me. Then you started screaming, you fell out of the tree, I couldn't catch you. I knew I had to bring you to a hospital; I flew for twenty minutes before I found one." He said in a huge rush.

I kind of sat there for a moment, dumbfounded. I had stopped listening at the part that I told Fang that I didn't love him, that I would never marry him. "You were probably horrified."

"You're damn right I was horrified! Max, you weren't breathing." He suddenly exclaimed. He shook his head; trying to clear it. "We'll talk about this later. You should sleep."

I opened my mouth to argue but he had stood up, cupping my face in his hand. "Sleep." He whispered when he bent down to kiss my forehead. He pulled away and grabbed his jacket that was draped on the end of the bed. An envelope fell out of it.

I sat there deliberating for a few minutes and grabbed the envelope. I turned it over in my hands and then a doctor came in. I threw the envelope behind my pillow and looked the doctor in the eye.

"Good morning Maximum. I'm glad to see that you're awake." She said, checking the heart monitor. "Your heartbeat has improved a bit, but I'll keep you on the monitor just in case…" she wandered off. "And it looks like you'll need another IV soon. Would you like some painkillers?" she asked.

"Um…sure." I whispered. I was horrified to read the note, but I knew I needed to because Fang could have left it there on purpose. It did have my name on it. But it didn't look like Fang's handwriting.

The doctor took out a syringe and needle and put it into the IV line. "You've been under for such a long time. You were in a coma, but only for an hour or two. I'm so fascinated by how fast you heal. You were worse off when you were brought here. But that boy, he really cares about you. What was his name? Nate, Ned…"

"Nick." I supplied for her. "Have my…uh…siblings come?"

The doctor gave me a puzzled look. "No, it's just Nick and your mother that are here. But I bet where ever your siblings are they are worried about you."

"Yeah, I'd put half a penny on it." I said numbly. The doctor gave me another puzzled look and then walked out. I counted to twenty and then retrieved the letter.

I sliced it open and unfolded two pieces of paper, both addressed to me, one from Jeb and another from Fang. I read the one from Jeb first.

_Dear Maximum-_

_ I know I will be dead long before you read this letter. That's why I have entrusted Fang with it. I am proud he gave it you; I was doubtful he would due to his reaction when I gave it to him. You are probably confused about how to feel about my death. _

_ You never trusted me after I left you, and I understand. You must be feeling somewhat relieved that I have died now that you don't need to go through that drama anymore. On the other hand, you probably feel that you have an obligation to me where you must feel bad because I was your father, but please don't feel that way. I don't want you to feel as if you owe my anything. I have made your life into a living Hell, and those first few years I dragged you through it, kicking and screaming – literally._

I laughed, remembering all of those times that Jeb came into the lab and pulled me out of my cage, me screaming cuss words at him and pounding him where ever I could just so that he would let me go.

_ But before you move on from my death, I need to come clean with you. I am your father, and you deserve the truth: You were right about me being evil. I know, it's a big shock considering you are never right. _

I chuckled, one tear escaping.

_ Valencia and I were just a little fling when we were fresh out of school, we had known each other our whole lives, in fact, she tutored me in biology in my freshman year of high school. I was so excited because she was a cheerleader and a junior, and I was a math nerd in ninth grade. But when I finished college and she finished grad school, we decided to have a go. When she told me she was pregnant I took advantage of the opportunity and asked her to be part of an experiment. She agreed, but after the insertion of the avian DNA I started to have second thoughts. _

_ The day you arrived she was so excited, and the first time she held you I could see how happy she was. But then the whitecoats came in and took you, and she lost her eldest daughter. I disappeared from her life the morning before though, and I felt terrible about it. We both loved each other so much. I met her for lunch a few years later, when she was engaged to your half-father. _

_ She was furious at me, she was restraining herself from stabbing me the entire time. Eventually, after all of the yelling, she asked me about you. I told her that you had turned into an amazing creature, and I also told her that you're name is Maximum Ride. She sat back in her seat, hand over her mouth, saying the name over and over again. Then she nodded and said, "Yes, Maximum Ride is perfect. It suits her." It was like she knew you._

_ After that I didn't see her again until shortly after you had showed up on her doorstep with blood dripping from her shoulder. Here is the bad part: She called me and told me about you. She told me about the chip in your arm and then we simply tracked you through that. Until then I had forgotten about the chip, and it was nowhere near my decision to implant it. After that was the downhill slide of our relationship. _

_ But Max, know this: Not a day went by that I didn't think of you and regret everything. I wanted you to have a normal life so badly from the day you were born, and I didn't know how to fix that. But now I have the solution. Only take this opportunity if you want to, but do know that it will change your life forever._

_ I love you. I always have. _

_ Your Father,_

_ Jeb_

Underneath of his signature was a business card. I sighed and folded the note, knowing that I would never get my wings removed. But then I thought differently when I unfolded the note from Fang. I didn't want to read it, because it wasn't the same note, but it wasn't different. I didn't want to read it, but I began reading it anyway. But this time I was prepared, because I had been there before. And I was going back.

**Oh no, what is in Fang's note? What is Max going back to? Sorry again about how long it took to update. Review please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it's been taking me so long to update. I have massive writer's block. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I didn't read the letter. I was crying like Niagara Falls and I hadn't even looked at the first few words. My heartbeats got uneven and my breath ragged. I leaned my head back against the pillow. _Oh crap._ I thought.

_He will be back Max._ The Voice said. Great! The voice was still there.

_Am I seriously going to die? Because that will be terribly inconvenient for the whole save – the – world plan. _I thought sarcastically.

_I can't tell you that. _The Voice said.

I sighed. _God, we've gotten so sidetracked from saving the world._

_ Are you still going to do that? _The voice asked uncertainly.

I had to. I had no choice. _If I do die, I want to remembered for what I did do, not what I didn't do. _I thought it made sense.

I was flown home on a private jet later the next day with still no sign of Fang. As soon as we were home I lay down on our bed and just cried. Every tear that I had suppressed up until that point just came out. I had to find Fang, I wasn't going to die without saying a final goodbye to him. I pulled out the still-folded letter that was in my jean pocket and clutched to my chest.

After what seemed like ages I ran out of tears to cry. Drawing in a deep breath, I got up from the bed and crept into my mom's office. I scanned her large bookshelves, seeking out the book that I wanted. Then I found it. I withdrew it from the bookshelf and walked quietly back to my room. I plopped down on my stomach on the bed, wincing at the slight pain in my ribs and extending my wings to stretch them out.

From the weathered state of the book, I knew Mom had spent many a night looking through the pages for the wisdom and knowledge that I hoped I would gain from the book also. There were small notes that she made in the margins, some were in bubbly handwriting that she probably possessed when she was a teen, some were the neat calligraphic cursive she had to that day.

Smoothing the wrinkled page, I noticed that the first sentence was underlined. When I was going to school in Virginia, my English teacher had taught me that the first sentence of the book was always the most important; it set the tone for the rest of the book. I sighed and read it.

_It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters._

As I continued to read, I soon realized how similar I was to Elizabeth Bennet. She had a large family that she had to help take care of as the second eldest daughter of the house. Her mother loved to dote upon her but never played her as the favorite of the five girls. And then she found herself hopelessly falling for the dark and mysterious stranger that she crossed paths with. It took everything in her to leave him but she had some ludicrous idea that it would be what was best for her.

My thoughts were interrupted, as usual, by the Voice. _Have you found what you need to carry on?_

I nodded.

_Then why are you still lying there, go save the world._

I sighed and jumped out of the bed. I knew what I needed to do to save the world and knew exactly the reaction would be from the world. Jane Austin had taught me that. I packed a backpack full of protein bars, three water bottles, a Gatorade, a gun, knife, several throwing stars, and finally the soft velvet box that I slid my ring into. I slung my pack over my shoulder and leaped from the window, throwing my wings out to catch the wind and make me soar upward.

What would the flock find in my absence, you may ask?

An old battered copy of Pride & Prejudice opened to a page where the only thing that was underlined was just one sentence. It was underlined and highlighted, the pen mark from Mom and the highlighter for me.

_The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance._

** I know this was a shorter chapter, but I have severe Writer's Block. And I don't want to be until the wee hours of the morning because than I would be extremely tired for my second day as a high school student. Woo-hoo! Oh, and there will only be the epilogue and than a small break before Fang: Part Four, which will be quite interesting. -Evil laugh- No, in all seriousness it's gonna be kinda sad. i'll include the summary in the epilogue AN.**

** ~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry it's been a while, I have an extreme case of writer's block. I know that isn't a good excuse, but I also just started high school so I'm a bit overwhelmed too. My high school is so big, it is an entire campus. So, yeah, it's been so crazy. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

As the hours passed, Nudge decided that Max had enough time to herself. She walked down the small hallway and tapped on Max's door, but was shocked when she noticed how quiet it was in the room. She cracked the door opened, peeking in, expecting to see Max lying on her bed but not seeing anyone in the room.

Max wasn't lying on the bed, but there was a book lying on it opened to a certain page. Nudge walked to it and read the single marked quote from it and yelled for the flock. Angel was the first one in and Nudge translated the quote into simpler terms for her. Iggy heard the translation and Gazzy did too as he started to nod to himself thoughtfully.

"She figured it out." Angel whispered.

Iggy nodded. "But you do realized what this means she is going to do, right?" he said.

They all looked at him with confused looks and he read their silence. "She's going to sacrifice herself for the world. She's going to let the Enemies kill her."

The flock was silent as they absorbed this…then they broke. Angel and Nudge ran through all of the rooms packing clothes, Gazzy was getting all of the paperwork they had collected about Itex and the Enemies while Iggy started to pack non-perishable food items. Suddenly the front door burst open, and…

"Fang!" Gazzy yelled.

Fang looked around at everyone who had gathered in the front of the house at Gazzy's exclamation. "Um, where is Max?" There was an anguished silence. "She figured it out didn't she?" Fang finally asked. Nobody answered. "Didn't she read my note?" he pressed for answers.

"You started it pretty similar to how you started that other note Fang." Nudge said. "She probably was scared to read past that."

"Iggy, a week ago, you mentioned something about Max trying to kill herself after I left for what she thought would be permanently, do you think she is going to now?" Fang asked him, barely able to get the words out.

Iggy bowed his head as if he were looking at shoes he couldn't see. "Yes." He whispered, not looking at anyone.

There was a beat of silence before Fang suddenly pounded his fist into the wall with so much force he left a hole. "Why couldn't she have read the whole note? She was supposed to! If she did, she would have waited for me to get back!" he yelled.

"Fang she's been gone for an hour, she's probably gone already." Angel said as sympathetically as she could.

"Have you guys been watching the news?"

"Well, yes—but what does that—" Gazzy said.

"It's not over." Fang whispered. "You would know if she was dead by the news. I would know if she was dead." He said to himself. He picked up the black backpack that he had been using for the last three years and walked back to the door. "Well, are you guys coming? It's time to save the world."

**So it has finally reached the crux of the series. Saving the world. Now please review while you still like me, because I guarantee that you won't like me after the eighteenth chapter. THANKS!**

** ~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, so I did my math wrong. It's the nineteenth chapter that you'll hate me after. The nineteenth or twentieth. I don't know! Grr…sorry, I'm so out of it. I've been visiting my grandfather in the hospital for the past few days, so I'm a bit insane right now. Haha, that's why I'm glad I have a boyfriend.**

**Anyway, that was really personal. Enjoy this chapter…if you want to.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I was in France within three hours. I was exhausted, smelly, and sweaty. I huffed when I found the Itex building. Turning so I was flying feet first, I crashed through the window, rolling in a tight ball across that scattered glass and crouching behind a large cart with medical supplies on it. I looked through all of the syringes of medication and finally found one full of adrenaline. I took it out and held it at the ready.

Surprisingly, no alarms were going off so I decided to venture farther into the room I landed. It was completely deserted, and I quickly found out why. It was where all of the whitecoats lived. There were bunks lining one wall, and lockers on the other. Walking along the line of beds, I noticed that there were small shelves above the bed where each whitecoat would keep his or her personal belongings.

One shelf in particular caught my eye. There was a small picture in a black and silver picture frame, and inside was a photograph that made my heart throb. It was what looked like a prom picture. The girl in the photograph was wearing a black and white mermaid dress with black opera gloves and holding a red rose bouquet. The man in the picture was wearing a black tux with a white tie and had his arm secure around the girl's waist. They both looked so happy and were looking right into the other's eyes.

Why would anyone want to give that up? Somebody that happy couldn't possibly want to kill people, would they? Jeb was always seemingly happy. My heart beat faster as I realized who the girl looked like in the picture and the man too.

There was no way it could have been Mom and Jeb. Absolutely no way. My breathing got shallow as I realized that there was a way. Mom was only thirty-four, therefore she had me at the age of eighteen. Who's bunk was this? Why did they have my parent's picture?

The jingling of keys brought me out of my reverie. I jumped in an open locker and closed the door, locking it. Peering through the vent, I saw someone come in the room and go to the cart. While passing the bunk that I was just visiting, she noticed that the picture was missing.

"Where is that picture?" she asked herself.

_In my hands._ I wanted to say. I wanted to jump out of the locker and kill her but I needed answers.

She stood there for a couple seconds stock-still, as if she was trying to sense where it was. She was so silent, so still, it reminded me of someone else…then she vanished. She quite literally disappeared. My breath caught in my throat, my hands got clammy as I figured out who the woman was. She wasn't a whitecoat, she wasn't any scientist at all, she was Fang's mother. She was a prisoner here. All of these people were. Dropping the loaded needle, I stepped out of the locker.

The woman spun around, making herself reappear. "You…" she whispered. She fumbled for a pager that she probably thought was in her pocket, but it suddenly appeared in my hand. "You are Maximum Ride. Fang's girlfriend."

"Ed-girlfriend now." I mumbled.

"Oh, oh my. But, what happened?" she asked me, obviously forgetting where we were.

"I'm sorry, but who are you, and why are you here?" I asked her not hiding my contempt.

"I'm Fang's mother, Kathy." She said, looking at me solemnly.

I sighed and walked toward the door. "Sorry, I'd love to chat, but I need to save the world. I suggest you get out of here now. And go through the window." I told her, opening the door. Speeding through the hallway, I made it to the stairwell. There was just enough room for me to fly up the middle.

Shaking my wings out I jumped up and down stroked, pushing myself upward with enough speed to match a train. People jumped back as I passed them, terrified of what was happening. I heard several people yell for security, but I was already through the door to the star lab. It was the top room in the lab, with no windows, just a big hole in the top of a large dome.

I looked around at the lab tables immediately finding what I was looking for. I piled it all together and I was just about to press the two wires together when the door burst open, and I couldn't believe who came in. And then of course the alarms went off.

* * *

Fang led the flock through the broken window of the lab. "Split up. Iggy, Gazzy and Angel go find where Mr. Chu is, Nudge come with me to find Max." he instructed. They went their separate ways and ran through the building.

Nudge asked Fang where he thought Max would be, but he didn't answer. He knew what she was going to do, and he had to stop her before she killed herself and the flock. He sprinted up the steps, pushing people out of his way. He broke down the door at the top of the steps and found Max bent over a small contraption with a couple of wires just inches apart, about to be pressed together.

"No!" he yelled.

She spun around, releasing the wires. "Fang, what are you doing here?" she asked with venom in her tone.

Fang wasn't swayed. He was aware of Nudge behind him, breathing heavily and probably looked like she was watching a train collision. "Max, I couldn't let you do this." Fang told Max.

"Well I'm going to. You said I'll die anyway." She said.

"Yes, but not this soon. Please, sweetheart, just step away from the bomb." He spoke gently, taking a step toward here with one hand extended.

"But I need to save the world." She whispered.

"Not like this." Fang whispered back.

She huffed. "I don't care if I die! Fang, don't you get it? I've had such a bad life, I have to do this."

"No you don't." he said firmly.

"Well, I'm going to." She said, spinning and snatching up the wires, forcing them just millimeters apart when Fang grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from the bomb.

"Nudge! Come on!" he yelled, but Nudge shook her head and walked toward the bomb.

She had tears streaked down her face, but Fang knew what she was doing. Fang knew that she didn't want to live anymore. Nudge was in love with Iggy, but Iggy wasn't in love with Nudge. He was in love with Ella.

Nudge looked back at Max and Fang. Max was struggling in Fang's arms, yelling for Nudge. But Nudge just shook her head again. "I'm sorry guys. But you deserve your happily ever after. I don't need mine. Because mine doesn't need me." She said, slowly picking up the wires. "Go, but never forget me."

Fang followed Nudge's instructions by gripping Max tighter and taking off into the air so he could fly out the large hole in the roof. Max was kicking and screaming with tears streaking down her face. They landed in a nearby field and she collapsed into his arms as he whispered, "Don't watch."

Max buried her face in Fang's chest, clutching his shirt in one hand and the other holding the back of his neck as he kissed her hair. The rest of the flock gathered around them. Angel and Gazzy collapsed against Iggy, who had tears pouring down his face. He loved Nudge, he just wasn't in love with her.

The explosion shook the ground, knocking Fang off balance sending him toppling to the ground with Max landing on top of him. She curled up in a ball and he sat up, cradling her in his lap while rocking her back and forth. Gazzy stoked Angel's hair as she sobbed on her shoulder as Iggy held both of them.

After what seemed like hours, they all pulled back and looked at the burning rubble. Fire trucks were arriving and one man sprinted to the field where the remaining five flock members stood. He asked what happened, and Fang explained it to him rather coolly. The man shook Fang's hand, squeezed Max's shoulder and walked back to where his group was. He told the news reporters to back off and give them space.

Max took out something from her backpack and showed it to Fang. He immediately figured it out, and as Max went back into a new fit of hysterics, she whispered, "Yes, I'll marry you Fang."

**So I think there will only be about one chapter and an epilogue after this, and then maybe I'll have a Fang: Part Four at some point? I haven't decided, but I'll put an author's note up on this story with my final decision. Please no flames. But reviews are welcome. :) I know a smiley face isn't good with this ending, but you get my point. **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm back! Haha. Thanks so much for the reviews guys. I really appreciate it. But that doesn't mean stop!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I watched the early morning sun stream through the window, illuminating my new room. Fang held me all through the night, even when I told him to leave. I couldn't stand being apart from him any longer; I was glad he didn't listen to me. Somehow knowing that he and I would be together until death made me want him even more, maybe because my death was coming…fast.

Feeling Fang stiffen, I knew he was awake after sleeping for an hour. He stroked my hair and kissed my neck. "I'm gonna go check on the flock. Do you need anything?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head, curling tighter when he got up, shuddering from the lack of heat. After just seconds I missed the feeling of Fang's body pressed against me, his warm touch sparking tingles through my whole body. But he didn't take long to return.

The bed dipped a bit as he sat down but I stood and stretched, brushing off the bewildered expression on Fang's face. I smiled grimly and shook out my wings. Opening the window I jumped up on the sill and leapt out and caught the wind with my wings. It felt so good to be flying again. I flew to a secluded spot in the woods and waited…and waited…and waited. Then I saw a dark shadow streaking toward the ground.

Fang landed with as much grace as a jungle cat. If, you know, jungle cats had wings. But I wasn't paying attention to that. No, I was already occupied with Fang's kiss. He pulled away, cupping my face in his strong, calloused hands, peering at me as he said, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, pressing my lips to his as he swept my legs out from under me and laid me down on the ground, covering my own body with his…

I stood in front of the full-length mirror, fidgeting with my dress. Yes, you heard correctly, my dress. It was short, sleeveless, and black. I had black pumps on, my hair was curled, and I even put on a smidge of make-up. There was a gentle knock on my door and I said, "Come in."

Fang shut the door behind him and stood in front of me. "Wow." He whispered.

"It's not too much?" I asked.

He shook his head, stepping forward to hold my hand in both of his. "You look beautiful." He said as he kissed the back of my hand.

I smiled faintly and picked up the necklace I had planned to wear with my outfit. I handed it to Fang and turned around, shuddering when his fingers touched my neck.

"You're quiet. What are you thinking about?" he asked.

I sighed. "You know, I have no clue what I am thinking about." I admitted to him. He smiled

We both laughed as I looked Fang in the eyes and asked, "Is it wrong for me to be happy right now?"

He sighed and smiled grimly. "I think Nudge would want you to be happy right now, don't you?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Sh." Fang ordered. "You asked a question and I gave you an answer, now what you do with it is your own personal problem." He said.

"Ah, but remember: we're getting married, what's mine is yours." I reminded him.

Fang and I got in the black car that he would be driving to the church in. "Look, I have been thinking. Remember a few years back in Virginia, when I asked that if I went bad, you could finish me?" I asked. Fang nodded. "Well, the whole mind takeover thing a couple weeks ago has me wondering, would you still do that?"

He was quiet for a long time, the puttering of the engine the only sound in the car. "I would, yes." He finally whispered in a hard tone. His jaw was stiff and his knuckles were stiff from gripping the steering wheel so tight. "But it won't come to that Max."

"You don't know that. You did say that I'm going to die." I told him. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "Well if anyone kills me, I want it to be you. I know that sounds really sick and twisted, but I know that you are the only one that could kill me properly."

"You're not going to die. I will fight for you." He pressed.

"No—"

Fang cut me off. "Max, I love you and you love me. You didn't let me die way back when, once upon a time, a long time ago, and I'm not going to let you die either. And if you're going to die and I'm going to die, we're going to do it side by side, because that is what soul mates do, right?"

He had never expressed so much emotion before. I was speechless so I nodded. "Right." I agreed.

He smiled and grabbed the clutch, putting the car into drive and slowly pulling out of the driveway, propping his arm up on the console between us so he could grasp my hand.

**So that's it for Fang: Part Three! It's gonna be a while before Fang: The Final Battle is posted, and I may not even do a final book. I might just leave this as kind of like an open ended ending and you guys can dream up how it ends, but I'll let you know what I'm doing soon. **

**I'll tell you what, I'll put a poll up. So yeah, vote! And review, please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	20. Sequel!

**I know it has been forever and people probably aren't even following this story anymore, but I made up my mind as to making a Fang: Part Four and as soon as I finish typing up this author's note I will start the first chapter of it. Yay! Here's the summary:**

_**Eleven years after saving the world, everything is different. The five flock members are dispersed in various places. Angel and Gazzy are happily attending graduate school, Ella and Iggy moved to Manhattan, no one knew where Fang was, and Max moved to Manhattan too. But when Iggy wants to reconnect and tragedy strikes, will they all find it in them to forgive the past and move on together? Or will they remain in the angry stupor that Nudge's death put them in and continue to hate each other?**_

**I am so excited to write this story. It will be a bit more dramatic than the other two which is a good thing for you guys because that means that you don't need to put up with my pathetic attempts at writing action sequences. Not even my sister can help me because she's bad at it too. Please review and no flames on this book.**

**Lots of Love,**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


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